


Holes in the Floors of Heaven

by srmiller



Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: Canon Divergent, Gen, Missing Scene, Season 3, sara and tommy from the afterlife, sin as the canary
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-27
Updated: 2017-02-27
Packaged: 2018-09-27 04:33:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 782
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9964961
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/srmiller/pseuds/srmiller
Summary: “You deserved better,” he repeated waving his arm, his voice quiet but there was an edge to it. “Better than what you got.”And she realized she was on the rooftop where she’d been killed.Murdered.“I don’t think we get to choose how we go out,” she reminded him, she looked down in to the alley but her body wasn’t there anymore, neither was Laurel. “It’s not like I was a hero or anything.”“Not a hero?” Tommy asked, baffled and angry he took a step forward. “I’m not sure what your standards are, but I’m fairly certain saving a city counts as heroic.”She shook head, “One good deed doesn’t erase everything I’ve done.”





	

Standing on a rooftop, looking down at the city that she loved she could feel the moonlight passing through her skin like a breeze but she felt as real as she had when she’d hugged Laurel only minutes ago.

Or had it been hours? She couldn’t tell anymore, she’d lost track of time along with everything else.

Maybe that’s what death was: Losing.

“You deserved better.”

She turned, could feel the strands of her blonde wig brushing her shoulder and her face, the weight of her mask heavy around her eyes. And in the fading moonlight she could see a man standing behind her on the rooftop, arms crossed.

Dark hair, warm eyes, it had been years since she’d seen him but she recognized him instantly, the charming boy with the infectious smile she’d known in another life.

_Tommy._

“Excuse me?”

“You deserved better,” he repeated waving his arm, his voice quiet but there was an edge to it. “Better than what you got.”

And she realized she was on the rooftop where she’d been killed.

Murdered.

“I don’t think we get to choose how we go out,” she reminded him, she looked down in to the alley but her body wasn’t there anymore, neither was Laurel. “It’s not like I was a hero or anything.”

“Not a hero?” he asked, baffled and angry he took a step forward. “I’m not sure what your standards are, but I’m fairly certain saving a city counts as heroic.”

She shook head, “One good deed doesn’t erase everything I’ve done.”

“To survive,” he finished for her. “Everything you’ve done to survive. Look at your hands Sara, there isn’t any blood there.”

Looking down she saw her leather gloves, and she finally remembered when she’d died she hadn’t been dressed as the Canary. No wig, no mask. She’d been Sara. 

“You’re both,” Tommy reminded her, as if he could hear her thoughts. Maybe he could, she didn’t know how this being dead thing worked. “And you were a hero.”

She shook her head then looked out at the city. “Who will take care of them? My family?”

“They’ll take care of each other,” he assured her. “That’s what family does.”

“So what’s next for me? The highway?” she smirked.

“No,” and this time he sounded frustrated enough she almost smiled. “You made a choice. One. Was it the best decision anyone has ever made in the history of ever? No. But falling for a boy with a good smile doesn’t mean you deserved everything which came after. What you did, you did to survive and it was a brave thing.”

He stepped forward and touched her shoulder. “And more importantly, you kept your promise. You looked after that pilot’s little girl and she’s strong because of you, she’s brave because of you. You were her hero, Sara, and you taught her to hope.”

There were tears in his eyes, she could see the moonlight shining through, reflecting off the water, “And you saved Laurel. For that…” his voice trailed off and he cleared his throat. “For that I owe you everything.”

She said nothing, unable to believe him but… “I’d rather have died in a fight,” she admitted. “If I had a choice, I would have liked to have gone down fighting.”

“You’re a fighter. You always be,” he smiled. “And people will continue fighting to save this city in your name for years to come. It doesn’t matter you didn’t think you were a hero, Sara. Every one else does.”

————————

Two days later in a graveyard a woman stood in a leather jacket under a moonless sky staring at a reused gravestone.

Behind her she could hear the familiar shuffling of heavy boots, “Are you okay?”

“She told me you know,” the voice was clipped and sharp, it was the only way to keep the tears at bay. “Before she left she told me everything.”

Out of the corner of her eye she saw the familiar flash of red and found a small measure of comfort knowing some things never changed. “We’ll find who did this Sin, I promise.”

“I know,” and the sniffle which followed sounded angry. Turning to her friend she looked in to Roy’s eyes which looked sad, “I want to help.”

He nodded once and she broke, the tears fell harshly and the sobs ripped at her throat but his arms came around her and she held on.

But in the back of her mind she pictured a woman in a clocktower, blonde hair and strength in her eyes.

_No woman should suffer at the hands of men._

And if Sin had anything to say about it, they never would again.


End file.
